House Hold Heat

My 20 year old house follows some of Australia's building trends.
Its bigger than my previous small three bedroom home with more bedrooms and an open plan living area.
It is insulated in ceiling & walls but made with brick veneer.
We have roof vents to allow the heat to escape and the building has plenty of north facing windows, shaded from the rays of the sun in the summer.

A reasonable passive solar house design 20 years ago but not one that would pass muster for a 6-8 star energy design.This is how the house has functioned after two days of above 40 degrees C heat.

Day 1( Tuesday 14 Jan) & Day 3 (Thursday 16 Jan ) information:

Tuesday	14 Jan 2014	Melbourne	42 C Forecast
Time	Temp (ext) o C	Temp (int) o C	PV Output
6:00 am	19	22	0.0 kWh
8:30 am	26	23	0.06 kWh
9:30 am	33	24	0.26 kWh
12:45 pm	39	26.5	2.18 kWh
2:15 pm	40.6	27	3.38 kWh
4:04 pm	42	27.5	4.68kWh
6:10 pm	42	28	5.60 kWh
8:00 pm	38.6	27	5.78 kWh
Thursday	16 Jan 2014	Melbourne	44 C Forecast
Time	Temp (ext) o C	Temp (int) o C	PV Output
6:00 am	19	22	0.0 kWh
8:30 am	26	23	0.06 kWh
9:30 am	32.4	28	0.03 kWh
12:45 pm	40	30	1.70 kWh
2:15 pm	41.7	28.5	3.07 kWh
3:30 pm	43.9	29.5	3.90 kWh
6:10 pm	41 (approx)	30	? kWh
8:00 pm	41 (approx)	28	6 (approx) kWh

Christmas Wishes: The Heat is On

As another year draws to a close its time to extend Christmas wishes to everyone reading this.
But the Heat is On!

40 degrees in Melbourne means the following:

• Libraries and other free air-conditioned places will be busy. 
• Lots of people can't afford air-conditioning and older people die in greater numbers in the heat.
• So do dogs and other furry pets!
• Kids left in cars - please, please no!!!!!
• Peak water use in the morning as everyone tries to prepare their plants for the heat
• Northern hemisphere trees will get stressed and drop their leaves, perhaps for the rest of the summer as a response to the heat. Normally takes a couple of weeks to show something other than crispiness.
• Train cancellations - 16 trains of 2000 cancelled early and more will cancel later. Perhaps some heat buckling the rails later on,
• The Melbourne Southern Star Wheel (like the London Eye ) may have its engineers checking it anxiously. Its structure buckled under 46 degree heat in 2009 and its been closed since then. Due to re-open this weekend I think.
• Air conditioning units will be on full all day - solar power units will make sure that some of this peak is being generated by the sun! Thus making life cheaper for us all.
• Freeways today have been RS. Still RS and will continue as people get stressed in the heat and traffic.
• Grass and Bushfire risk is very high today. Not yet extreme or catastrophic.
• Tony Abbot and co will be making life more difficult for all renewable energy projects. He doesn't believe in subsidies for businesses like Holden, which is fair enough. But when will he remove the fuel subsidies for the transport industry, mines etc. Will he remove the land and reduced tariffs for the coal industry. Will he make things more of a level playing field so that big business doesnot unfairly compete with small



Christmas Lights

• Short answer no!

So to all of the environmental activists out there: have a great Christmas and be prepared for an interesting, tumultuous New Year. Lets hope people power can be successful. I'm beginning to think a double dissolution might not be a bad idea but ...??

Climate Council's Report